2005 World Series
The 2005 World Series, the 101st Major League Baseball championship series, saw the American League champion Chicago White Sox sweep the National League champion Houston Astros 4 games to 0 in the best-of-seven-games series, winning their third championship and first since 1917. Home field advantage was awarded to Chicago by virtue of the American League's 7-5 victory over the National League in the 2005 All-Star Game. The Astros were attempting to become the fourth consecutive wild card team to win the Series, following the Anaheim Angels (2002), Florida Marlins (2003) and Boston Red Sox (2004). Both teams were attempting to overcome decades of disappointment: the Astros were making their first Series appearance in 44 years of play, while the White Sox waited exactly twice as long for a title, having last won the Series in 1917, and had not been in the Series since 1959. Managers: Ozzie Guillén (Chicago), Phil Garner (Houston) Umpires: Joe West, Jeff Nelson, Jerry Layne, Derryl Cousins, Gary Cederstrom, Angel Hernandez Series MVP: Jermaine Dye (Chicago) Television commentators (FOX): Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, with Chris Myers on the field reporting. Results Game 1 October 22: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois Playing in their first World Series home game since 1959, the White Sox took an early lead with a home run from Jermaine Dye in the first inning. The Sox scored two more in the second when Juan Uribe doubled in A.J. Pierzynski after Carl Everett had already scored on a groudout earlier in the inning. The Astros responded again in the next inning when Lance Berkman hit a double, driving in Adam Everett and Craig Biggio. In the White Sox half of the fourth, Joe Crede hit what turned out to be the game-winning home run. In the bottom of the eighth, Scott Podsednik hit a triple with Pierzynski on second. Roger Clemens recorded his shortest World Series start, leaving after the second inning with 53 pitches including 35 for strikes, due to a sore hamstring that he had previously injured (and caused him to miss his last regular season start) as the loss went to Wandy Rodríguez. José Contreras pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits for the win, and Bobby Jenks earned the save to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the series. When Neal Cotts entered the game in the top of the 8th it marked the first time in 5 games that the White Sox had gone to their bullpen. ::*Box Score Game 2 October 23: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois On a miserably cold (51 degrees) and rainy evening, Morgan Ensberg's first-pitch home run off starter Mark Buehrle put the Astros on top in the second inning. The White Sox answered in the bottom of the second with two runs of their own off Andy Pettitte. Lance Berkman drove in three runs in the game, two of them on a go-ahead double in the top of the fifth. In the seventh inning, Dan Wheeler loaded the bases with a double to Juan Uribe, a walk to Tadahito Iguchi, and home plate umpire Jeff Nelson's ruling that Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitched ball. The ruling was considered questionable, as replays showed that the ball hit Dye's bat. The Astros brought in Chad Qualls, who promptly served up a grand slam to Paul Konerko on the very first pitch he threw, the eighteenth grand slam in the annals of the Fall Classic. In the top of the ninth, White Sox closer Bobby Jenks blew the save when he gave up a two-run game-tying pinch hit single to José Vizcaíno. In the bottom half of the ninth, Astros closer Brad Lidge gave up a one-out walk-off home run — the fourteenth in Series history — to Scott Podsednik, giving Lidge his second loss in as many post-season appearances (his previous appearance was in Game 5 of 2005 National League Championship Series). Podnednik had not hit a single homer in the regular season, and this was his second of the postseason. The Series moved to Houston with the White Sox leading 2-0. ::*Box Score Game 3 October 25: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas Before Game 3, it was ruled by Commissioner Bud Selig that the retractable roof would be open at Minute Maid Park, weather permitting. The Astros objected, citing that their record in games with the roof closed was better than with the retractable roof open. Selig's office claimed that the ruling was based on the rules established by Houston and were consistent with how the Astros organization treated the situation all year long, as well as the weather forecasts for that period of time. In the game – the longest World Series game in length of time (five hours and forty-one minutes) and tied for the longest in number of innings (fourteen, tied with Game 2 of the 1916 World Series) – Lance Berkman singled with one out after a Craig Biggio lead-off double in the bottom of the first as the Astros struck early. The White Sox had a rally snuffed in the top of the second inning; after Paul Konerko hit a lead-off double and A.J. Pierzynski walked, Aaron Rowand hit into a line-drive double play. Adam Everett caught the ball and then doubled Konerko off second by flipping the ball to Biggio, who stepped on the bag. Houston scored in the bottom of the third when Everett led off with a walk. Everett got caught in a rundown and got hit by the ball on a Juan Uribe throwing error that hit Everett. A Roy Oswalt sacrifice bunt and a Biggio single sent Everett home. Berkman singled again with two out, sending Biggio to third. Then Morgan Ensberg singled Biggio home for the third run of the game. Jason Lane led off the Astros' fourth with a home run to left-center field. It was later shown in replays that the ball should not have been ruled a home run, hitting the left side of the yellow line on the unusual wall in left-center field. The White Sox rallied in the top of the fifth, true to their "Win Or Die Trying" mantra of 2005, starting with a Joe Crede lead-off homer. Uribe, on first after hitting a single, scored on a Tadahito Iguchi base hit with one out, followed by Scott Podsednik coming home on a duck-snort single by Jermaine Dye. Pierzynski hit a two-out double to Tal's Hill, driving in two runs, scoring Iguchi and Dye giving the White Sox the lead. The Astros rallied in the last of the eighth with two outs when Lane's double scored Ensberg with the tying run after back-to-back walks by Ensberg and Mike Lamb, giving Dustin Hermanson a blown save. Houston tried to rally to win in the ninth, but stranded Chris Burke at third, after he had walked, reached second on an error and stolen third. The Astros tried again in the tenth as well as in the eleventh, but failed each time. In the top of the fourteenth, after the Sox hit into a spectacular double play started by Ensberg, Geoff Blum (a former Astro) homered to right with two outs off Ezequiel Astacio. After two infield singles by Rowand and Crede that went a total of 150 feet according to McCarver, Uribe walked, and then Chris Widger walked thanks to Astacio's sudden wildness. The Astros tried to rally with the tying runs on first and third and two outs after a Uribe error, but Game 2 starter Mark Buehrle earned the save for winning pitcher Dámaso Marte when Everett popped out, bringing the White Sox one game closer to their first World Championship in eighty-eight years. Buehrle became the first pitcher ever to start a game in the Series, and save the next one. There were many records set or tied in the game besides time and innings: The teams combined to use seventeen pitchers (nine for the White Sox, eight for the Astros), throwing a total of 482 pitches, and walking twenty-one batters combined (a dozen by Chicago, nine by Houston); forty-three players were used (the White Sox used twenty-two and the Astros used twenty-one), and thirty men were left on base (fifteen for each team), all new high-water marks in their categories in Fall Classic history. Scott Podsednik set a new all-time record with eight official-at-bats in this game. One record that was tied was most double plays turned, with six (four by the Astros, two by the White Sox). ::*Box Score Game 4 October 26: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas Before the game, Major League Baseball unveiled its Latino Legends Team. The fourth game was the pitchers' duel that had been promised throughout the series. Both Houston starter Brandon Backe and Chicago starter Freddy Garcia put zeros on the scoreboard through seven innings, the longest since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Scott Podsednik had a two-out triple in the top of the third, but Tadahito Iguchi grounded out to second, thus snuffing that threat. The Astros had the best chance of scoring in the sixth, but Jason Lane struck out with the bases loaded to end that rally. The White Sox had a chance in the top of the seventh with runners at second and third and two out, but shortstop Juan Uribe struck out to snuff the rally. The White Sox were able to break through in the next inning against embattled Houston closer Brad Lidge. Willie Harris hit a pinch-hit single. Podsednik moved Harris to second with a sacrifice bunt. Carl Everett pinch-hit for Iguchi and grounded out to the right side to allow Harris to move over to third. Jermaine Dye, the Most Valuable Player of the series, had the game-winning single, driving in Harris. Things got a little sticky for the Sox in the Astros half of the eighth when reliever Cliff Politte hit Willy Taveras, threw a wild pitch, sending Taveras to second, and walked Lance Berkman. After Morgan Ensberg flew out to center, ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillén brought in Neal Cotts to finish the inning. Cotts induced pinch-hitter José Vizcaíno into a ground out to Uribe. Bobby Jenks, the 24-year-old fireballer, started the ninth inning. He allowed a single to Jason Lane and a sacrifice bunt to Brad Ausmus. Chris Burke came in to pinch-hit; he fouled one off to the left side, but Uribe made an amazing catch in the stands to retire Burke. The game ended when Orlando Palmeiro grounded to Uribe. It was a bang-bang play as Paul Konerko caught the ball from Uribe at 11:01 p.m. CDT to begin the biggest celebration in Chicago since the sixth NBA championship by the Bulls in 1998, and end the second-longest period without a World Series title (the cross-town Chicago Cubs still own the longest such streak, as they have not won it since 1908). The 1-0 shutout was the first 1-run game to end a World Series since the 1995 World Series, in which Game 6 was won by the Atlanta Braves over the Cleveland Indians, and the first 1-0 game in any Series game since Game 5 of the 1996 World Series when the New York Yankees shut out the Braves in the last game ever played at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. ::*Box Score Trivia * Chicago manager Ozzie Guillén, a Venezuelan, became both the first manager born outside the United States, and the first Latino manager, to win the Series. * The White Sox finished the season by winning 16 of their last 17 games, beginning in the last week of the regular season. * The White Sox' AL opponents in the playoffs, the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, were the last two AL franchises to have won a World Series (Boston in 2004, LA the Anaheim Angels in 2002) * The White Sox became the second team (1999 New York Yankees) to go 11-1 in the postseason since the major leagues adopted a 3-level playoff format in 1994. * The White Sox were the sixth different team in as many years to win the championship; it also marked the first time in history that different AL teams had swept the Series in consecutive years. * The White Sox had the best regular-season record in the AL, and led their division throughout the season (although they did not clinch a playoff spot until the final Thursday) and were thus guaranteed home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They easily advanced to the World Series with a 7-1 AL playoff mark. Meanwhile, the Astros won their wild card playoff berth by a single game and staged one of the largest upsets in a League Championship Series ever, defeating the Cardinals despite finishing eleven games behind them in the Central Division during the regular season. * This was the first World Series in which each of the participating franchises had waited more than forty years to make a Fall Classic appearance. * Game 1 was the first World Series game played in the city of Chicago (or the state of Illinois) since 1959; Game 3 was the first Series game ever played in Texas. * This was the seventh major sports championship won by a Jerry Reinsdorf-owned team. Reinsdorf also owns the Chicago Bulls, who won six NBA championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. * The White Sox were the first division winner to win a World Series since the Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series. They were also the first team with the best league record to win the series since the Yankees won the 1999 World Series. * This was the first World Series won by a team from the Central Division of either league since the league realignment prior to the 1994 season. * This was the third year in a row that the victorious team won the Series-clinching game on the road and to end in a shutout. In fact, this was the first time in several years that the home team did not win any of the post-season games (including the League Championship Series and the World Series). * The run differential of 6 in favor of the White Sox, tied the New York Yankees from the 1950 World Series, who swept the Philadelphia Phillies, as the lowest in a World Series. * The White Sox were the first team in World Series history to win two games on the same calendar date, as Game 3 ended at 1:19 a.m. US CDT on Wednesday, October 26 (after starting at 7:40 p.m. CDT on October 25) while Game 4 ended at 11:01 p.m. CDT. * The last time the Red Sox and White Sox won back-to-back World Series was when the White Sox won the 1917 title, bookended by Red Sox titles in 1916 and 1918. * This was the 17th occasion in which both managers were making their first Series appearance. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was the third base coach for the 2003 Florida Marlins * This was the 19th World Series to end in a four-game sweep, and the second consecutive Series (and 12th overall) in which the AL team swept the NL team. It was the second straight year in which a team named the Sox swept the Fall Classic over a team from the NL Central (the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 Series). * The last time that back-to-back sweeps occurred in the Series was in 1998 and 1999. The New York Yankees won both of those Series, defeating the San Diego Padres in 1998, and the Atlanta Braves the following year. * The last time two different teams swept the Series in consecutive years happened in 1989 and 1990. The Oakland Athletics swept the San Francisco Giants in the earthquake-delayed 1989 Series, but the following year, the A's themselves were swept by the Cincinnati Reds. * The White Sox won their final eight games of the postseason, duplicating what the Boston Red Sox accomplished the year before. * The White Sox were the first team since the 1997 Florida Marlins to win the World Series without having to defeat the Yankees at some point in the postseason *The Astros became the first expansion team to be swept in their initial Series appearance. *This marked the first World Series appearance for longtime veterans Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell *Mike Lamb became the first Astro ever to hit a home run during the World Series *Scott Podsednik of the White Sox hit two home runs in the 2005 postseason in 49 at-bats, even though he hadn't hit a single home-run during the season in 507 at-bats. *The Astros are only the second team to be 15 games below .500 at some point during the season (15-30) and still go on to appear in the World Series (the first being the 1914 Boston Braves). *Tadahito Iguchi became the first Japanese-born player to win a World Series. Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Hideki Matsui, and So Taguchi all lost in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 World Series, respectively. *With this Sox World Title, the Chicago Cubs are the only Chicago team to not have won a championship in last 50 years.Chicago Blackhawks 1961,2010 Chicago Bears 1985, Chicago Bulls 1991,92,93,96,97,98. *In 1917, the White Sox and New York Giants played the first three games of the World Series in 5:56. That is just 15 minutes more than it took to play all of Game 3 in 2005. Category:THIS IS NOT WIKIPEDIA! Quotes of the Series "And he rips one into left...Konerko, a Grand Slam!"-Joe Buck of FOX Sports calls Konerko's Game 2 Grand Slam "A swing, and a high fly ball, deep right center field. This is way back in the gap. AND ITS A GONER! A WHITE SOX WINNER! A WINNER ON A PODSEDNIK HOME RUN, AND THE WHITE SOX GO UP TWO GAMES TO NOTHING IN THE 20-05 WORLD SERIES!"- John Rooney calling Scott Podsednik's walk-off home run in Game 2 on ESPN Radio 1000. "Podsednik hits one to deep right-center field, back at the wall, THIS BALL IS GONE! Podsednik goes deep, his second homerun of the postseason, and the White Sox win it 7 to 6!"-Joe Buck calling Scott Podsednik's walk-off homerun in Game 2 "You can watch 20% of a season of 24 or watch the longest game in World Series history, Blum hits it into right down the line it is gone! Geoff Blum the former Astro goes deep and here in the 14th inning the White Sox take a 6-5 lead!" - FOX Broadcaster Joe Buck on Blum's go ahead home run in Game 3. "The side step, the kick, the right-handers pitch, Blum drives it to right field, deep down the line, in the corner and IT’S A GONER! A HOME RUN FOR BLUM AND THE WHITE SOX JUMP OUT IN FRONT IN THE 14TH 6-5, on a pinch homer from Blum!" - John Rooney calling Geoff Blum’s go ahead home run in Game 3 on ESPN Radio 1000. "A high pop fly down the left field line, moving towards the stands in foul territory Uribe is over there, he reaches! DID HE CATCH IT!? DID HE CATCH IT?! HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT!!!! IT WENT INTO THE STAND AND BROUGHT IT BACK OUT!!!" - John Rooney "Palmeiro, over the head of Jenks....Uribe, charges, throws....OUT!! And the White Sox have won the World Series!!!" - FOX Broadcaster Joe Buck "A Ground ball past Jenks up the middle of the infield, Uribe has it, he throws...OUT, OUT!!! A White Sox winner and a World Championship!!! The White Sox have won the World Series, and they're mobbing each other on the field!!!" - Former ESPN Radio 1000 (WMVP) Announcer John Rooney "Twenty-five years ago, Buddy, you got me into this game. (begins crying, then pulls himself back together) And for most of those twenty-five years, I asked you, 'Why?' I will never, ever ask you again." - Jerry Reinsdorf, Chairman of the Chicago White Sox, to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig when he was presented with the Commissioner's Trophy. ''"...we might have to this again next year..." -Paul Konerko at the White Sox Victory Parade. Konerko was a free agent following the '05 season, and due to his performance, many thought he would not be able to resign with the White Sox. His quote shows he was looking to return in 2006, and did, signing a 5 year 60 million dollar deal with the Sox. External links *MLB official site *2005 World Series official site *2005 Postseason schedule *Latest news from MLB *AL Championship Series *NL Championship Series *Historical and statistical analysis *Jerry Reinsdorf and Ozzie Guillen at Illinois Senate World Series ceremony *Chicago White Sox Official Site *Houston Astros Official Site Category:World Series World Series Category:2005 Chicago White Sox World Series Championship Team Category:Chicago White Sox World Series appearances Category:Houston Astros World Series appearances